I found Rockie Fresh by accident. I was honestly trying to find an A$AP ROCKY song, and stumbled upon "Drivin 88". OHHH BOYYY BUT WHENNN I DIIIIDDD.. This guy is dope...... I legit, wanna have sex with this mixtape. Like, I'd take this music, and rub it in my crotch if I could. Too much?! Listen to it and tell me otherwise.
Hosted by DJ Ill Will! The tape starts off with Rockie saying exactly what he wants. He wants to make music, and he wants the good shit. I will start off by saying flat out, this "mixtape" could have easily been an album, EASILY. This guy doesn't have a fucking care in the world, and you get that vibe from the tape.
Filled with mid-tempo beats, a chilled voice that gives you shivers, and lines that make you love music all over again, this Chicago rapper is every bit of refreshing. After we leave the intro, we head into "Drivin '88". Smooth flow and the help of Casey Veggies, you're already head bobbin.. Then we move into "Never Never". YUP! A SBTRKT SAMPLE! I nearly hit the roof with joy when I heard that shit. OH MAN. My heart is beating so fast right now just typing about it. "They thought that I would fail, they only see me making it", he says. This local rapper is blowing up, he knows it, and he deserves it. He has punchlines, but not a lot.. and I feel like that's solely because he doesn't need them. He's saying what he feels, and it comes off right. There's just something about his flow that captures you.. You forget you're listening to a song, and you legit feel like he's talking to you. I won't get into this song by song.. I will say I'm giving it a 4.5/5. EVEN though I think the "Back to the Future" deal is a little wah. I understand that the theme works for the tape, I appreciate the movie references.. but sometimes it gets a little.. "been here". Wale already did that. AND, some of the cuts are a little messy for me. Don't take that for anything more than it is, this is probably going to be my favorite mixtape of the year. I don't see much wrong with it.. so I can't really take away from it. I just can't. I'd feel guilty if I said this is anything less than a 4.5. I even hate the song, "Turn it up", because of it's pop type sound. BUT STILL. It's a solid tape. Regardless of THAT fact, Rockie deserves all the good talk he's getting right now. I look forward to seeing/hearing what's next. Legit this has been on rotation for over a week now.
Childish Gambino can rap his ass off. He can rap his mother fucking ass off.. and in Camp, he does.. NOT ONLY THAT.. but he can do it lyrically well, he throws some singing in, AND.. he does it all in a refreshing way that makes you appreciate music all over again. I haven't felt this way since hearing NERD for the first time. There's something about that type of hip hop that's so necessary to music, and not many people can do it. Now emotional music has always been questioned, is it too emo, is it try-hard, does it come off as fake, is this guy a pansy.. well, I didn't ask any of that when I listened to Camp. I understand Drake fans put on for his sultry voice that feeds us endless stories of lost love and sad moments.. but Gambino does this in a different way, and you still hear him. His message comes off easy, and heart-felt. That same message is shown to you in a way that you understand and appreciate. Hello, have you listened to "Heartbeat"?! I could listen to that all day and even if I never committed a fault in life, still feel fucking guilty. It's fucking beautiful. He's rude, honest, intellectually stimulating, and it feels like a cold beer on a good night. He literally takes all of his secrets and lays them on a table for you to graze through.. and graze through, you must. In "Opener" alone he lets you in on the lost relationship with a cousin. These few lines stuck deep, "and he mad cause his father ain’t around/ he lookin at me now, like ‘why you so fuckin lucky?/ I had a father too/ but he ain’t around so I'ma take it out on you’/ we used to say ‘I love you’/ now we only think that shit/ it feels weird that you’re the person I took sink baths with/ street took you over/ I want my cousin back". If you ever questioned an actor's development into a rapper, I understand that.. but Monsieur Glover changed the game with this one. He proved himself to be a healthy contestant in the music industry.. and I hope he continues for a very long time because I refuse to stop listening to him. This shit is fucking amazing. I can't preach its worth enough.. oh, and he easily made me feel better about Drake's backpack line when he says "man, fuck a backpacker.. fuck a backpacker with a rhino's dick.". Yeah. I'm good now. He's not trying to be ghetto or hood, he's a guy that can rap good telling you exactly who he is.. and I appreciate that honesty on all sorts of levels.
MY FAVORITE LINES INCLUDE:
"hood shit and black shit is super different/ so I’m talking hood shit and coolin’ out like New Edition"
"the only thing I put before me (Mi) is 'Do, Re'"
"realest mother fucker in the game like Tron"
"“the black experience is black and serious/ because being black, my experience is no one is hearing us"
Fuck it. Almost every fucking line is a punchline.. So, sorry.. but this is the best album I've heard in awhile..... so...
He did it. He came through with an album that would take every Drake "hater", sit them down, and tell them, "Hey, listen, I'm just saying what I feel here". We hear that in his first song alone with, "the backpackers are back on the bandwagon/ like this was my comeback season/ back, back in the day/". I'll admit.. I wasn't completely satisfied with his first album, and that backpack line hit me hard. I've never claimed to be a backpacker, but I certainly feel like it was directed toward people like me. Those who gave the Torontonian a hard time actually shook their heads in shame, at least I did. May I still complain about that "paint dryin" line though, yo Drizzy, we're over that kindergarten shit. He stepped on to the stage with this one. It still holds Weezy on it, but is definitely less Weezy influenced. Although he still plays homeage to Weezy with the "clock on the wall" reference. Who are we kidding? He had to. Never forget where yo came from. This is actually DRAKE. He found his flow and his cadence, without trying to grab styles from Wayne. That's heard on "Headlines". Anyone who can change their style that many times on one track, deserves a little bit of an applause. Other guests that appear include Andre 3000, Rihanna (my least fav song on the album), Rozay, Stevie Wonder and others. "We'll be Fine" is my absolute favorite. GOOD GOD. Production was handled by 40 and Tminus for this one, and they went crazy for this one. The production on here sticks a fist into your chest, and it feels good. It feels damn good. Other production on the album include the Weeknd, Chantal Kreviazuk (WHAT! Curaze), Just Blaze, Jamie XX and more. Drake himself even co-produced three songs, and it's nice to see him test those waters. An eclectic mix, for an eclectic album. Every song is different and has a different vibe to it with the same message.. Drake has grown up.
My favorite lines include: "long as the outcome is in the income"
"shout out to the asian girls, let the lights dim some (sum)"
"first I made you who you are, then I made it/ and you're wasted with your ladies/ yeah I'm the reason why you always gettin' faded/ take a shot for me/"
"started not to give a fuck and stopped fearin the consequence"
"even though dyin' isn't in the plans/ but neither was makin' it and here I am"
The intro is incredible. This beat is aweeesome. & I love his voice in it. My only complaint about this, is the instrumentals over-powering his voice. I find that it's consistent with the entire tape.. you have to really listen, which I don't mind.. It just almost sounds like he's doing back up vocals for himself.. which.. is.. dumb. Personally, if I was editing this one, I'd take the snare out and kick up his vocals. In summary: the production on this tape is absolutely NO comparison to House of Balloons. There is no doubt with that.
I will throw down an applause for how different the production is. It's a weird, dark, questioning, nightmare, hang-over kind of sound. If that doesn't make sense to you, you haven't listened to it yet.
LIFE OF THE PARTY IS MY FAAAVORITE! Can we talk about the control Tesfaye has over his voice? The thing that stands out the most when you listen to this dude is his sound. He could do this shit acapella and still have me questioning if he's a real person.. I'm still in half belief that he's an experimental robot that escaped from Area 51 and is rebelling against the government. His voice is just.. that good. It takes you up and lifts you. It actually feels like, it lifts you. & he's definitely improved on his vocals. IS IT POSSIBLE?! Yes, it is. & he has.
When I first listened to this tape, I hated it. I was like, "What is this!?". House of Balloons is simply a tough entrance. Tesfaye certainly took his music in a new way. He wanted to keep growing, keep improving, and he wanted to put out something different. Thursday is definitely different from the House of Balloons. It just lacks consistency. There is no flow to it.. I found myself continuously checking to make sure the songs weren't on random. Each song, on its own is good.. but put all together is a little confusing for the listener. You're thrown around on a ride that leaves you confused, not knowing where to go. However, once you're ten seconds into a song, you're back in it for the ride.. and you're able to enjoy it.
The bottom line is, The Weeknd is putting out music that you won't hear anywhere, and it's damn good. If I heard this tape first, I would rate it higher.. but the House of Balloons is just a tough bar to pass.. A little too busy, a little too much. We'll see what happens when Echoes of Silence drops. Til then, it's still an amazing tape that deserves a download. Go get it.
@ GZA! Seeing GZA live is putting it all into perspective. This was my second time seeing gza, but my first time seeing him solo; first time I saw him was with the rest of the clan. His lyrics have always been mind stimulating, and seeing him live takes you to that. All I kept thinking was, "fuck, gza's so fucking smart". My liquid swords cd got stolen ages ago.. so to prep myself with liquid swords, I had to resort to grabbing a tape deck, some batteries, and plugging that into the aux. LOL. THAT DIDN'T EVEN MATTER THOUGH. Go through lengths and whatever it takes for good music man, and GZA is that. Dude even stayed around to sign autographs after.. & I got mine !! AAAAAAAAANDDDD.. he did ALL of liquid swords, with THREE homages to ODB.. now.. you be the one to tell me this dude doesn't put on a show?! NOT ONLY was gza fuckin' bomb, but mathematics was the DJ. C'mon, when you have wu-tang's ACTUAL dj up on stage, WHOM might I add, is ALSO the creator of the wu-tang "W", you just about love your life choices. GREAT SET, excellent delivery, mathematics on the 1's and 2's, AND it's the fuckin genius! 4.5/5 for this one, I'm only taking off a half point for the people that were dissing the opening acts. Please don't complain about local talent when you're 18 years old.. These guys have been in the game for years, and just because you haven't heard of them doesn't make them bad. Learn music.
BUN B - IN REVIEW now i'm not bun b's number one fan or none, so this concert was the first time in a long time, i wasn't right at the front of the stage. i chose to hang back with bianca while lex (a bigger bun fan than i), hung back. we found a good spot though. clear view, we had a table.. and i sat on top of a speaker, which helped me to see over the tall crowd. he put on a show, and i think he did every song he was ever on haha. even if it was only his appearances, he made room for them. he cut some songs off trill a little short, but that didn't matter. especially because he took time out to do a few of pimp c's verses. he appealed to the audience, didn't interact with the audience much though. he used the stage well, and sounds exactly the same way live as he does on record. which i can appreciate. crowd was calm, and there for bun, minus a girl fight?! what?! girl fights?! haha. other than that though, they were hella feelin' it. it's so different not to be getting rammed into the stage and having bruises all along my ribcage the next day.. and it's also different seeing everyone and basically the whole scene go down. i can appreciate the show, it didn't take away from bun nor add to him for me.. and i'd see him again, but not for more than $30.. and that isn't because he's a bad performer, i'm just not into his music as much. he made sure to give everyone a good time, and for that, he gets a 3.5/5.. un-biased!
my boyfriend asked me to do this review like three weeks ago or some shit, and i was like "yeah yeah, i'll get to it". well.. it's time.
i don't think i can fully express my appreciation for cole. every single fucking time i hear a j cole song that i haven't heard before - i rewind it. dude is so ridiculously blessed with words, it's beautiful. there are some music days, where you throw something new on, and you just let it play. you can't do that with j cole, you have to sit there, with a clear head, and just take in every word he says. it's rare that the dude actually has a bad line, and that's what's so crazy. each line is followed right after previous awesome.. so while you're breathing in one line, he's already on his third.. and then you gotta rewind it back. this tape is no different. the back to the topic freestyle made me want to lick his face.. "voice gone as shit, i think it's gonna make it sound a lil, a lil iller".. but i don't want to just talk about swimfanism. "you got it" is the first song i heard before listening to the mixtape front to back.. and the line "know you got a 9-5, i'll be your 5-9". AHHH. yeah. yeah j cole, yeah. I JUST MIGHT CHANGE YA LIFE! i think the best part about this mixtape is that when you first hear a song, your first initial instinct is, "HOLLYYY SHIT!! this song is so fucking good, it's my favorite song on the tape".. then you hear the next song, and you say the exact same thing. "you got it" is probably the weakest song on the tape.. and that might sound like i'm dragging the tape down, but i'm not. that just goes to show how fucking good it is. this shit needs to be hard copied and sold everywhere.. and if i haven't convinced you yet.. let me continue. i am always thoroughly impressed with him. i don't want to compare this to the warm up either. a friend of mine asked me which i think is better, and i won't answer it. that's like asking me what do i like better, puppies or kittens. there's no higher level between the two for me. he surely isn't getting worse, and keeps impressing. this tape goes in j cole's head, and throws his thoughts down musically.. aside from that, most of the production is done by the man himself. admirable. he is puttin in wooork. i loove best friend too.. i love it all, but really relating to best friend right now. that shit is soo good.. i nearly fucking cried to this one. the production on this is so good! flipped aaliyah, and it worked more than well.. every song is my favorite. seriously. i can't keep saying "i love this song", because seriously i love them all. every single song, is my favorite. ALSO, let me throw this in the air, i am a BIG, and AVID, 90's hip hop junkie. most of the hip hop i listen to, is a decade old.. most of the time, when i listen to "new" hip hop, it's because of my mixtape mondays.. or i hear shit when i'm out, and usually have no idea what it is.. i'm big on supporting old hip hop, and it's rare i give new artists a shot.. but j cole is the fucking future right now. he is fully taking hip hop in the right direction, and he's doing it without being a veteren, we need that right now. so raw. so fucking raw.. and i'll continue to eat the fuck out of this mixtape probably until the end of the year and beyond. get it now.
5 out of fucking 5. be the one to tell me different. p.s. still love "blow up", shit needs to play everywhere.
i've been trying to download this mixtape all day. pun intended, but the servers are going haywire.. because well, it's girl talk. so if you want to download this, WHICH YOU SHOULD, be patient cause it's going to take a few tries. especially since he's releasing this shit ABSOLUTELY FREE! that's what happens when you have a dude using samples like crazy, he relies on his live shows and word of mouth for funds, and i frankly, have no fuckin problem with that! the tape is available via two ways, one single mp3 (one continuous track), and mp3s. i downloaded the mp3s seperately and only because it's the only download that wasn't over-flowing with internet hands trying to get a piece. i personally like girl talks previous release to this one, and feel this one isn't as smooth. i really did not feel the first track at all, and that made me kind of hesitant while listening.. then the second track comes in haaaaaaardddd, some craig mack greatness and your worries are put at ease. it's worth the download (good luck!), it'll make you rap along with familiar tunes 3.5/5. omnomnom. twork twork twork!! pop champagne!
the very first time i discovered keys n krates was on youtube. i was immediately obsessed. & when i found out about a given opportunity to see them live, i nearly peed my pants, but i also wasn't sure what to expect. when trying to find people to come see them with me, i was asked "what are they? what do they play?". that question is so fucking hard to answer lemme tell you.. and the response that escaped my mouth was "they're like.. hip hop, electro, indie, mash up.. mixers?". what they go by, is "the live remix". composed of three, tune (drums), flo (turntables), and matisse (keys); they form to bring you exactly that, a live remix. sometimes when hearing them, you're too busy dancing to think "how the fuck did they come up with this!?".. but it hits you. these guys take music and twist it in their own beautiful way. everything they put out has been a fucking gem, and if you ever have the opportunity to see them, do so. this mixtape is no different.. my cousin and i threw it on last week and i literally did not want to stop driving til it was over. it's fuckin' amazing. stop sleeping. get it. 5/5
so i made sure to leave the books to catch the premiere of kanye west's video? movie? whatever. so let's take a look at it. as soon as i saw bird girl/lady(?) i knew.. THATS WHAT I WANT TO BE FOR HALLOWEEN. nowwwwww.. all i need is a killer body and some feathers.. OMG. so hot though, seriously so hot. the michael jackson float was interesting.. i really wasn't sure what the two angels on the side of it were supposed to be? one of death, and one of life? one of good? one of bad? but michael jackson?! did. not. yeah, didn't get that. the kkk seems to be a fascination with mister west.. he's always big on making the most outrageous things to get you in thought, but i think the video could've done without that.. he did it already, i heard him the first time. the teacup part was pretty powerful. i took it as a metaphor for perseverance, that scene was absolutely beautiful.. but there was nothing in the cup lol.. THE AIRPLANE HANGER.. WOOOOOOWWWWW.. what an amazing set. the contrast with the white clothes, against such a beaaautttiiiful room. who knew an airplane hanger could turn out so fucking beautiful?! the white people as servants was a pretty strong thought. that made me literally say "whoa", out loud. that's a big statement, and i applaud the sense of art and history in that. i feel as if some people are going to be offended by that, and i think that it should be viewed as what it is.. he literally took the term "if you could walk in our shoes" into full effect, and it was 100% interesting. when homeboy was like, "do you know she's a bird?" OMG. i literally died laughing. way to throw some comedy in there, i found it to be quite comical.. and as soon as the piano started, i got ridiculously excited.. AND WHEN THE BALLERINAS CAME IN! omg. MY HEART STOPPED. SICCCKKEST THING EVER. when the table lifted their glasses for douchebags, i fully appreciated that. i fully appreciate the song, so seeing a visual for the line, in such straight line segments was screaming beautiful art. the ballerina with the cornrows was a boss.. loved her. annnd then, the turkey came out.. waaahhhhh.. comfort your girl kanye what is you saying right now honestly! THEN, the biggest line from the vid, "ANYTHING THAT IS DIFFERENT, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE." wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwow. WOW WOW WOW. i'm not even gonna.. just wow. there are a lot of light shows and fireworks and all that kind of stuff, kanye loves his flashing lights.. ANNNNNNNNNDD then, she RUNS AWAY.. cuz run away.. and then he runs.. and that's it. she probably would've stayed if you didn't cook up her cousin for dinner. that's me trying to be funny, hope someone laughed at that. real talks though, it's a pretty intense video.. and it spoke pretty well. i fully appreciated it.. and what else could you expect from kanye?! he's always trying to get people talking. let's see if he was loud enough for people to hear..
4/5 for contrast and lines and balance and music.. i hate how cocky dude is, but he certainly knows what pleases. minus 1 because uhh.. well, what?
hot hot heat put on an amazing live show, and my only complaint is that their set was only an hour?! a five song encore kind of made up for that, but i still feel we deserved a lot more. regardless of the time, they put on a kick ass show. they switched up between elevator to make up the breakdown.. when they did bandages, i literally thought i was going to die from excitement. i danced my ass off, listened to some dope ass music, and had a blast with good people. not to mention how insanely laid back the band is. someone once told me they were dicks in person, and that is a load of horse shit. these guys are so well-rounded, talented, and polite. they throw some genuine music loving into their performance.. and i give the overall show as an experience a 3.5/5. deductions only for a shorter show, i didn't want the night to end.
closed curtains had me kind of excited.
we're thinking about moving to austrailia.. or anywhere that offers us a home and a job, let us know !
haha oops, maybe i'm a little too close.
he was awesome, amazing person.. and super nice.. thanks for the show. you killed it!
Consistently making a mess of things, she's either "funny" or "weird". Botcho usually finds herself awake for too long despite her love of sleep. She's busy exploring the world with a taste for fashion, concerts, breaking rules, hair dying and pizza. She only calls herself a writer in an attempt for her blog to make sense. For all business inquiries, you can contact her mom.
syntifik@hotmail.com
